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Post subject: Mid 60's Band Master Head --- Restoration Thread
Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 7:45 am
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I'm considering buying one of these from a friend who looking to liquidate some old gear. This particular head is pretty beat up, but it still plays. He says it was stored in his basement for 35 years. Sound-wise it pretty good, but the tubes are gurgling pretty steady. Most of the pots are gunked up bad and the front grill cloth is long since gone. The chrome parts are all rusted out, but the original tolex is mostly in tact with a few small rips. Also the power cord is pretty wasted with an oxidized plug a duct taped cord, in need of replacement. Also it’s seems that the tubes may be overloading as I’ve blown a few 2a slow-blow fuses trying to get this thing running. It runs fine with a 3 or 4a SB, but I hesitate to make that a SOP. Also the vibrato is not functioning

To get this amp running ship-shape and looking sharp, my guess is this amp will need a new set of tubes in short order, plus a minimum of half the pots replaced. Add in a new grill cloth, power cord and restoration on all the chrome, tolex and deep cleaning of the knobs/plastic parts. Also add in potentially some electrical repair to the proceedings.

With everything I would need to do, I was thinking of offering $200-250. Does that sound like a fair offer?


Thanks!

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Last edited by kozy814 on Sat Sep 25, 2010 8:57 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 8:18 am
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Consider you can find Bandmaster heads for about $800.


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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 9:00 am
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No more than $250 in its current condition.

And find a qualified amp tech to restore this warrior.

Arjay

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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 9:38 am
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The condition you're describing sounds like this amp just might be a "money pit". Getting parts can be more expensive than buying the whole thing in good condition and having to do some minor repairs or tweaking. The time appropriate "Fender" badge, in decent condition, alone can run you in the $100 range on Ebay. Also, I wouldn't put this in the hands of just any old "Tech". It sounds like it could need almost a complete rebuild. You want someone who knows what he's doing working on that classic. Good techs don't come cheap. When all is said and done, it could cost upwards of $1,000 to get this baby back into nice shape.


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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:03 am
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Thank you all for the advice. I do have the original badge, so that's a good thing. I also have a local tech that's experienced in vintage amp repair. That's the place I'd take this amp. I guess I have to decide if I want to venture into an amp project and what my offer for this amp should be.

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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:13 am
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Can you borrow it from your friend and have the tech give you an estimate before you buy? You'll know if it's worth it.


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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:18 am
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atolleter wrote:
Can you borrow it from your friend and have the tech give you an estimate before you buy? You'll know if it's worth it.


He did lend me the amp, so I think it would be no problem to take it in for a quick look

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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:33 am
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Good, sweet amp, hope it can be rescued.


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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 5:13 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
No more than $250 in its current condition.

And find a qualified amp tech to restore this warrior.

Arjay


I've done a little research on amp value for this puppy, and on items needed for restoration.

First off, the Fender amp field guide and Vintage Guitar Price Guide both value the era Bandmaster amp head at approx. $500 in VG to Exc Condition with all features in optimum functional order. I've also taken some time to research the cost of replacement parts for functional and cosmetic restoration to have a road-worthy amp when I'm done. Here's what I've determined.

New Tubes (garden variety Groove Tubes).. $170
Electrical Cable.................................................. $15
Amp Pots and knobs ........................................ $40
Grill Cloth............................................................$25
Service Tech.....................................................$100 (just to look)
Grand Total.....................................................$350

Now, that does not factor in deep cleaning of the chrome parts and tolex, grill cloth replacement and cable and pot/knob replacement, which I'd do myself. And it also does not factor in any electrical repairs -- that has yet to be determined. Nor does it factor in repair of the vibrato which I won't use anyway.

With my $350 restoration estimate (min) and the established value of $500 for a clean, well functioning Bandmaster head, I'd say an offer (pending inspection by my tech) of $100-150 should be my top offer.

What do you all think?

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Gretsch Pro Jet w/Bigsby
And My Frankenstein-O-Caster


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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 9:46 am
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The vibrato (it's actually a tremolo) requires shorting the circuit to ground in order to operate. You'll need the footswitch or a shorting plug inserted into the RCA phono jack on the rear panel to turn it on. There may be nothing wrong with it at all.

Your cost/benefit analysis of what will be required to restore the Bandmaster seems reasonable given the current condition of the amp. I've bought nice blackface and early silverface drip-edge versions off of Ebay many times for $500 or less. Thus, let your concience be your guide.

HTH

Arjay

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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 2:45 pm
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I picked up a SF Bandmaster locally about 2 months ago, cost me $500 or $550, can't really remember... but it's in excellent shape! And sounds heavenly!

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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:03 pm
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Well, I took the amp in. The owner looked over the amp -- He said considering the condition, he would not recommend more than powering up the amp to determine what was working properly, and what needed repair, pending a complete overhaul. All thing considered, he suggested I offer $100.

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Gretsch Pro Jet w/Bigsby
And My Frankenstein-O-Caster


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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:19 pm
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Just how rusted are the trannies' lammies? If it's only surface rust, you may not need to replace them. If they look rusted to the core, I'd scope out sources of replacements. Most other components are relatively cheap and somewhat easy to find of the BMR. But, good trannies can be hard to find and $$$.

BTW... I restored a SF BMR (TFL 5005D) head. I used an OEM Bassman output tranny I bought from Angela (the OEM was fried). Put the thing into a 2 X 12 inch cab. It is one of the loudest measured 36 watt amps around. I bought the head from a guy for $250, with the fried tranny. All it needed was re-capping of the power & bias supply and three new sockets. Plus the tranny. Running 1990's Svetlana (=C=) 6L6GC and a great CBS-Hytron JAN 5U4GB. The gain stages are all Sovtek 12AX7LPS or RI Tungsol 12AX7. And a JAN-Philips 12AT7WTA.

Good luck with the amp!


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Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 1:33 am
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kozy814 wrote:
All thing considered, he suggested I offer $100.


Go for it and see what happens -- he can only say no.

Personally, I enjoy overhauling and restoring the old Fenders. The Showman below was a basket case when I received it......

Image

Now it's ready to rock with its companion speaker cab that I refurbished the summer before last......

Image

Nothing sounds quite like a vintage Fender tube amp. Nothing.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 2:49 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
Nothing sounds quite like a vintage Fender tube amp. Nothing.

Arjay

NOTHING! Nothing comes close to that tone! :)


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